Normal Human: The study of social psychology in everyday life helps
to achieve as much as possible the individual's understanding of his own behavior and the external behavior of other individuals
, thus understanding the dynamics of interaction and communication with others, as well as the cultural and social …
Social psychology can be used in different areas of our lives such as, our way of thinking, relationships (personal and professional), physical and mental health etc. At the center of all these, it's
human social cognitive system interacting
with everyday situations.
The goal of social psychology is
to understand cognition and behavior as they naturally occur in a social context
, but the very act of observing people can influence and alter their behavior. For this reason, many social psychology experiments utilize deception to conceal or distort certain aspects of the study.
It helps students
in improving their learning skills, cognition skills and intelligence level
. … It also guides students on how to cope with stress related to their studies such as exam stress.
Social Thinking, Social Influence, and Social Behavior
. Social psychology focuses on three main areas: social thinking, social influence, and social behavior. Each of these overlapping areas of study is displayed in Figure 1.1.
For example, you are likely to behave much differently when you are around a group of close friends than you would around a group of colleagues or supervisors from work. Social psychology encompasses a wide range of social topics, including: …
Social perception
.
Leadership
.
Normative social influence is usually associated with compliance, where a person changes their public behaviour but not their private beliefs. For example, a
person may feel pressurised to smoke because
the rest of their friends are. … This means any change of behavior is temporary.
In other words, where general psychology is the study of human behavior on an individual level, social psychology is the study of human behavior in a social context. There are four key characteristics of social psychology including
broad scope, cultural mandate, scientific methods, and search for wisdom.
Social psychology relies on three types of methods—
observational, correlational, and experimental
—to provide empirical answers to questions about social behavior.
- Social Cognition.
- Attitudes.
- Violence and Aggression.
- Prosocial Behavior.
- Prejudice and Discrimination.
- Social Identity.
- Group Behavior.
- Social Influence.
Social psychologists study how
social influence, social perception and social interaction influence individual and group behavior
. Some social psychologists focus on conducting research on human behavior.
- Social cognition and perception.
- The self in a social context.
- Attitudes and persuasion.
- Group decisions.
- Attraction and close relationships.
- Prosocial behavior.
- Stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination.
Social psychology is
the study of how individual or group behavior is influenced by the presence and behavior of others
. The major question social psychologists ponder is this: How and why are people's perceptions and actions influenced by environmental factors, such as social interaction?
Social loafing describes
the tendency of individuals to put forth less effort when they are part of a group
. Because all members of the group are pooling their effort to achieve a common goal, each member of the group contributes less than they would if they were individually responsible.
What is Positive Psychology & Why is it important?
Positive psychology is important because
discovering what leads people to live more meaningful lives
can translate to better strategies for managing mental illness, correcting negative behaviors, and increasing our happiness and productivity.
3 THREE TYPES OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE. There are three types of influence that a social presence can have on a consumer:
utilitarian, value-expressive, and informational
(Burnkrant & Cousineau, 1975; Deutsch & Gerard, 1955; Park & Lessig, 1977).
